Casting votes for special district commissioners

Elections in Five Towns, Atlantic Beach and Meadowmere Park are on Tuesday

Posted
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 1:37 pm

Five Towns residents and those in Atlantic Beach and Meadowmere Park can vote at their respective firehouses for district commissioners on Dec. 11.

Herald File Photo

By Jeff Bessen

Residents in the Five Towns, Atlantic Beach and Meadowmere Park can go to the polls in their communities to vote for fire and water district commissioners on Tuesday, Dec. 11. All fire district terms are five years, while the commissioner term for the Greater Atlantic Beach Water Reclamation Project is three years. Mark Rolon is running unopposed for his second term as an Inwood Fire District commissioner. Overall, Rolon, has been involved with the fire service for 32 years. “I have more to do and more to accomplish,” Rolon said, explaining why he is running again. His priorities include revamping the communications system to include redundancies in case of catastrophic events such as a hurricane. He also pointed to the new inflatable for water rescue, the recently purchased four-wheel drive ambulance (only two fire departments in the state have such a vehicle, Rolon said), portable communication devices for all line officers and renovation of the firehouse gym as needed improvements to maintain quality fire protection service. “I think we do a decent job,” said Rolon, about the commissioners working as a team and combining their experience and knowledge. Involved in fire service since he was 18, including more than 25 years as a firefighter, David Miller, 55, is running unchallenged for his third term as commissioner of the Woodmere Fire District. “My mission is to provide the best fire and EMS (Emergency Medical Service) to our community and to protect the safety and well being of all our Woodmere Fire Department members, said Miller, adding that the district looks not to raise taxes and watches its spending closely, while planning for large purchases of equipment. Through training and purchasing excellent equipment and apparatus is how the fire district provides fire and emergency services to the community, he said. Housing up to 25 displaced residents and feeding emergency responders such as state police and from upstate and FEMA staffers after Hurricane Sandy are other ways the department serves its community, Miller said. Running unopposed for his second term as commissioner of the North Lawrence Fire District, Vincent Leone, a resident of the district wants to keep taxes at a minimum, while helping to ensure that the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department that provides fire protection to the district has the equipment it needs. “I live in North Lawrence and just want to help keep taxes down and the fire departments gets the apparatus it deserves,” Leone said. In the Hewlett Bay Fire District, incumbent Pat Tudda is running unchallenged for his fourth term. A nearly 50-year resident of the community, he also wants the district to have what it needs and without raising taxes. “I like the community and want to give them the best service I can and not raise taxes,” he said. The district also has a proposition on the ballot. To change the treasurer position from elected to appointed on Jan. 1, 2015. Jeffrey Trout is running without opposition for re-election in the Atlantic Beach Fire District. Incumbent Meadowmere Park Commissioner Ed Samuelson is running unopposed. The Greater Atlantic Beach Water Reclamation Project also has a commissioner running for re-election. Scott Mason, the current governing board chair is unchallenged. The Water Reclamation Project oversees operation of a wastewater treatment plant that processes up to 700,000 gallons of water daily.

Sid Tanenbaum, who lived in Woodmere and owned a metal-stamping shop in Far Rockaway, where he was known more for his charitable ways than his two-handed set shot, has been honored for the past 30 years with a basketball tournament that raises scholarship money for students in the Five Towns.